Thermomechanical Stability of Imperfect Functionally Graded Plates Based on the Third Order Theory

Abstract

Mechanical and thermal buckling analysis of rectangular functionally graded plates with initial geometric imperfections is presented in this paper. It is assumed that the nonhomogeneous mechanical properties vary linearly through the thickness of the plate. The plate is assumed to be under three types of mechanical loadings, namely, uniaxial compression, biaxial compression, and biaxial compression and tension; and two types of thermal loadings, namely, the uniform temperature rise and nonlinear temperature gradient through the thickness. The equilibrium, stability, and compatibility equations are derived using the third-order shear deformation plate theory. Resulting equations are employed to obtain the closed-form solution for the critical buckling load for each loading case. The results are compared with the known data in the literature.